There are a number of situations in which surveillance of a person or group of persons is necessary. An obvious example is use in law enforcement applications where the movements of an undercover agent must be monitored, or when low-risk criminals are sentenced to periods of home detention. There are also many applications for the monitoring of objects. For example, illicit drugs used by law enforcement officials in sting operations must be tracked to provide a chain of possession.
Another example is the tracking of baggage and passengers within the zone of responsibility of a given airport. More specifically, a system is needed for identifying a passenger early in the airport check in procedure, processing that passenger and his or her baggage, including carry-on items, and reconciling the person and items (baggage/packages) as they move through the airport up to the point of departure, and then again as they arrive at the destination. This system could be applied to any means of public transportation, including in train stations and bus stations. In the context of airport security, such a system could accomplish the total accountability desired by the airport, the airlines, and the federal entities that regulate both. The example of airport security will be used herein to facilitate disclosure of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to this specific application, however, and is contemplated for use with any application in which persons or objects are tracked for any purpose.